The Shadow of Ambition

I am often classified as someone who is "ambitious", who strives and tries. My parents, my teachers, and my friends applaud this, since it is often portrayed as something that leads to success. But there is another side of this as well, one which makes life stressful and strips away the little joys of everyday. My high standards have placed satisfaction out of reach. Teenagers often experience this and believe that life is about winning and gaining. It's actually just about enjoying.

If your arms, mapped with veins, to your sides rest, Then the sky is no tyrant, nor man’s rage. But for sun, skin aches, success conquers jest, And it’s those who strive that find space a cage. When wants slaughter needs the culprits are dreams, That steer you away from the path in sight, Until life is mundane, no longer gleams; Reality turns an abyss of night. It is then you see it’s despair you crave; Your goals confine but there’s nothing ahead, For this race for success ends with your grave, And your fantasies have made you misled. Thus in your haste to take flight in a day, Your unmade wings chain you down, to decay.